Richard Laymon Award

Instituted in 2000, the Richard Laymon President’s Award is named in honor of Richard Laymon, who died in 2000 while serving as the Horror Writers Association’s President. As its name implies, it is given by the HWA’s sitting President. The Award is presented to a volunteer who has served HWA in an especially exemplary manner and has shown extraordinary dedication to the organization.

The 2015 Richard Laymon Award is being presented to Patrick Freivald and Andrew Wolter, who moderate HWA’s popular Facebook group page. “With over 7,000 members,” said HWA’s President Lisa Morton, “our Facebook page has become one of the most trafficked parts of HWA’s online presence, and keeping it focused and tidy is a difficult and time-consuming job. Having worked with Patrick and Andrew on the page, I know that they put many hours every week into it. They personally review every post to make sure our rules are followed, and they frequently must explain the rules. They do so with good humor and thoughtful discussion, and HWA is lucky to have them.”

Patrick Freivald is an author, high school teacher (physics, robotics, American Sign Language), and beekeeper. He lives in Western New York with his beautiful wife, two birds, three dogs, too many cats, and several million stinging insects. A member of the HWA and ITW, he’s always had a soft spot for slavering monsters of all kinds. He is the author of Twice Shy, Bram Stoker Award®-nominated Special Dead, Blood List (with his twin brother Phil), Bram Stoker Award®-nominated Jade Sky, and the sequel Black Tide, as well as the novella Love Bites, a growing legion of short stories, and the Jade Sky graphic novella (with Joe McKinney) for Dark Discoveries magazine. There will be more.

Andrew Wolter is the author of the books Seasons In His Abyss, Much of Madness, More of Sin and Nightfall. He has published over three dozen short stories that have appeared both online and in print anthologies including Raw: Brutality As Art, Enter at Your Own Risk: Fires and Phantoms, and Anthology: Year Three, Distant Dying Ember. In addition to his horror fiction writing, Andrew has previously freelanced as a contributing columnist to X-Factor Magazine, in which he has over 85 published reviews and 15 published interviews. Being an advocate for LGBT rights, Andrew also freelances as a contributing columnist for a nationwide LGBT publication. Under the pseudonym Tristan Wilde, Andrew publishes homoerotic mystery novels. A resident of Seattle, Washington, Andrew is an active member of the Horror Writers Association and is currently working on several forthcoming novels. Visit Andrew Wolter online at www.AndrewWolter.com

PAST RECIPIENTS of the Richard Laymon President’s Award for Service include: